Prosecutor targets Oscar Pistorius' account of safety fears

Pretoria, South Africa: The South African athlete Oscar Pistorius appeared flustered, agitated and tired Friday during a third day of cross-examination by a relentless prosecutor who accused him of shooting his terrified girlfriend in the head during an argument. (Prosecution claims Pistorius tailored evidence)

From the beginning of the trial, much of which has been televised, Pistorius has insisted that he shot his girlfriend, Reeva Steenkamp, 29, four times through a locked bathroom door, mistaking her for an intruder.

On Friday, Gerrie Nel, the prosecutor whose nickname is the Pit Bull, ripped apart Pistorius' account of events, at times reducing him to tears and prompting the double-amputee track star to apologize to the judge for contradicting himself. (Pistorius admits 'no reason' to fire fatal shots)

In one exchange in the Pretoria, South Africa, courtroom, Nel said it defied comprehension that Steenkamp had not screamed, as Pistorius asserted, when he shot her in the head. He also said that if Pistorius had truly feared an intruder, then it was inconceivable that he would not have checked to make sure that Steenkamp was safe before drawing his gun. He accused Pistorius of killing Steenkamp, a law graduate and budding reality television star, in a murderous rage.

"She was standing there talking to you when you shot her in the head," Nell said. "She was scared of you. She wasn't scared of an intruder."

He added, "You shot at her knowing she was behind that door."

Nel asked why an intruder would break into Pistorius' home and then lock himself in a bathroom. He questioned why Pistorius had not just run out of his bedroom - the closest route to safety - but instead had run toward danger, wielding a loaded gun.

"I didn't want to take anyone's life," Pistorius said. "I was never ready to shoot. I was trying to see what was happening in my home."

"If you stayed in that room, Reeva would have been alive," Nel replied. "I am testing you on a version that isn't true."

The prosecutor also asked how it was possible that Pistorius had heard the sound of a window sliding open - his stated reason for fearing a burglar was in the house, which prompted him to grab a gun - when he was standing near loud ventilation fans.

The trial has offered two starkly different portrayals of the defendant. In the defence's account, Pistorius, 27, is a love-struck boyfriend who accidentally shot Steenkamp. But prosecutors have presented Pistorius as a trigger-happy, self-obsessed bully who killed Steenkamp and then constructed an elaborate cover-up.

Pistorius' defence team has argued that he felt vulnerable after having been the victim of a series of crimes, including burglaries at his home and an assault. But on Friday, Nel pressed Pistorius to explain why he had never reported the crimes to the police.

The prosecutor told the court that the exclusive gated community in Pretoria where Pistorius lived had bolstered security measures not long before the night of the shooting, and he noted that Pistorius had felt so secure there that he had left his two cars parked outside.

Nel rattled Pistorius when he asked him about his home security measures. The defendant said that he had activated the alarm system the night of the shooting, even as he was concerned that workers might have removed security beacons. Nel asked why he had not mentioned this earlier.

"You are tailoring your evidence," he said. "You are in trouble, and you just give an explanation that's nonsense."

"I think you are trying to cover up for lies," Nel said.

Pistorius told Judge Thokozile Matilda Masipa, "I'm tired, my lady," after which the judge asked if he was too exhausted to proceed. "If you are tired, and you are making mistakes because you are tired, you must say so," she said. Pistorius replied that he wanted to continue.

Pistorius testified that he was once shot at while driving on a highway, seeing a "muzzle flash" and hearing a bang. But Nel challenged the account, asking the defendant why he had not called the police to report the crime. Pistorius said that he had not done so because he did not think the police would do anything about it.

Nel has, at times, induced gasps in court with his tactics, including showing a graphic image of Steenkamp's bloodied head.

On Friday, Masipa warned Nel not to berate Pistorius.

"Mind your language," she said. "You don't call a witness a liar while he is in the witness box."